Pissed About The #HobbyLobby Decision? Here’s How You Can Take Action

Birth control is basic healthcare for most women — on top of preventing unwanted pregnancy, it helps women’s overall health and helps with diseases like endometriosis. When women have access to birth control, it even helps the economy! So it came as an attack on women’s rights when the Supreme Court announced that some bosses will be able decide whether or not their female employees’ birth control will be covered by their employee health insurance plan.

For-profit company Hobby Lobby had protested against covering its female employees’ birth control, saying it violated their religious beliefs, even though Hobby Lobby is fine with the fact it makes money off companies that supply products for birth control and abortion. In a 5 to 4 ruling, SCOTUS sided with Hobby Lobby about denying coverage of birth control on the boss’s religious grounds, but said that this religious exemption could only be used with birth control. In other words, as many women’s rights activists have pointed out, this means everyone’s health-care coverage is safe — except women’s.

But Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who voted in favor of birth control coverage, thinks that this ruling will soon allow bosses to discriminate and get away with other things; they would just have to say they’re doing these things for religious freedom. “In a decision of startling breadth, the Court holds that commercial enterprises, including corporations, along with partnerships and sole proprietorships, can opt out of any law (saving only tax laws) they judge incompatible with their sincerely held religious beliefs,” she wrote.

Feeling angry? A lot of people are. Here are a few ways you can take action.

+ Boycott Hobby Lobby

Whatever you can buy at Hobby Lobby, you can buy at another store. You can boycott it and other stores that try to fight women’s rights to healthcare. You can also let Hobby Lobby know your opinions through social media, letters and phone calls.

+ Support Women’s Rights Orgs

Today any donation you can make to Planned Parenthood will be doubled. This goes on till midnight. You can also support other women’s rights orgs, especially ones concerned with women’s reproductive rights.

+ Tweet #NotMyBossBusiness

Does your body belong to you or your boss? Do you or your boss get to decide if and when you have kids? Tweet #NotMyBossBusiness to join in on the conversation about women’s rights.

+ Write to Your Legislators

Let your legislators know how you feel about this decision. Be loud! You can also sign UltraViolet’s petition to Congress letting them know that birth control matters to you.

+ Vote

If you’re 18 or over, make sure you pay attention to elections and vote. Your elected politicians decide who’s in the Supreme Court, and if you want a Supreme Court that looks and acts differently from this one, you need to get the politicians you like elected.